New Delhi: After marathon meetings with Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot — the Congress’s warring leaders in Rajasthan — the party sought to project unity in its state unit late Monday night.
In an effort to showcase harmony, the party released a photograph of the two leaders sharing a laugh alongside other senior leaders at the residence of Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge in New Delhi.
Following the meeting, though, the Congress remained tight-lipped on the modalities of the arrangement worked out between the two leaders.
Kharge’s meeting with Rajasthan Chief Minister Gehlot Monday lasted over four hours. He also met Pilot, Gehlot’s detractor and chief ministerial aspirant, for close to two-and-a-half hours.
Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, party general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal, and the party in-charge for Rajasthan, Sukhjinder Randhawa, were present for both meetings.
The picture released by the party captures a light-hearted moment between Gehlot, Pilot, Gandhi, Kharge and Venugopal.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, Venugopal, with Pilot and Gehlot by his side, said: “For the upcoming Rajasthan election, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi had a detailed four-hour discussion with Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot. In this discussion, we have decided to fight the polls unitedly. Both of them (Pilot and Gehlot) are in agreement that the Congress has to move together and we will definitely win the election in the state.”
“It is clear that Rajasthan is going to be a strong state for the Congress and we are going to win. Therefore, both the leaders, Ashokji and Sachinji, unanimously agreed to the proposal of this thing. They have left all decisions to the high command (sic),” he added.
According to party sources, the two Rajasthan leaders were first spoken to individually and were then brought together in the same room. The demands of both were not discussed.
Pilot had earlier given an ultimatum to the party that if allegations of paper leak and misgovernance against the previous Vasundhara Raje-led BJP government in Rajasthan were not looked into, he would go on a state-wide agitation from 30 May.
Sources in the Pilot camp told ThePrint that there is a “ceasefire” on the same as of now.
Sources in the Gehlot camp, on the other hand, indicated that the CM did point towards Pilot’s “rebellion” of 2020 and whether it would be prudent to give him any organisational role keeping the same in mind.
ThePrint reached Pilot and Gehlot for a comment, but a response was not received at the time of publishing this article. The report will be updated if and when a response is received.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
Also Read: Why Sachin Pilot is fighting a losing battle against Ashok Gehlot